God’s face is the face of a merciful father who is always patient. He always has patience with us, he understands us, he waits for us, he does not tire of forgiving us if we are able to return to him with a contrite heart. A little mercy makes the world less cold and more just.
~ Pope Francis
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All of us religious leaders, that we never use God’s name to foment wars. Let us stand by our people, the workers, the humble, and fight together with them so that integral human development may become a reality. Let us build bridges of love.
That governments and all politicians work for the common good. Let them beware of listening only to the economic elite; may they be servants of those people who ask for land, shelter and work and a good life in harmony with all humanity and creation.
Powerful countries to stop aggression, blockades and unilateral sanctions against any country anywhere on earth and that conflicts be resolved in multilateral fora such as the United Nations.
That the media put an end to the logic of post-truth, disinformation, defamation, slander and that sick attraction for scandal and that they seek to contribute to human fraternity.
The telecommunications giants to liberalise access to educational material and exchange with teachers via the internet so that poor children can be educated even under quarantine.
Technology giants to stop preying on human weakness, people’s vulnerability, in order to make a profit.
Arms manufacturers and dealers to totally cease their activity, that foments violence and war, often in the context of geopolitical games that costs millions of lives and displaces many people.
The big food corporations to stop imposing monopolistic production and distribution structures that inflate prices and end up withholding bread from the hungry.
The large mining, oil, forestry, real estate, agribusiness companies to stop destroying nature, to stop polluting, to stop intoxicating people and food.
Financial groups and international credit institutions to guarantee poor countries the basic needs of their people and to waive those debts so often contracted against the interests of those same peoples.
The big laboratories to liberalise patents and to carry out a gesture of humanity and allow every human being access to the vaccine.
We must adapt our socio-economic models so they have a human face, because many models have lost it. Thinking about these situations, in God’s name I want to ask:
The Spirit asks us to listen to the questions, concerns and hopes of every Church, people and nation. And to listen to the world, to the challenges and changes that it sets before us. Let us not soundproof our hearts; let us listen to one another. #Synod #ListeningChurch
The fight against hunger demands we overcome the cold logic of the market, which is greedily focused on mere economic profit and the reduction of food to a commodity, and strengthening the logic of solidarity. #WorldFoodDay
The Word of God summons us to discernment and guides the #Synod, so it may be filled with grace, a healing process guided by the Spirit, in which Jesus calls us to ask what God wants to say to us in this time, and the direction in which he wants to lead us. #ListeningChurch
Rural women have much to teach us about how effort and sacrifice enable us to build the fabric that ensures access to food, the equitable distribution of goods, and the possibility for every human being to realise their aspirations. #RuralWomenDay
#SaintTeresaofJesus teaches us that prayer is not to experience extraordinary things, but to unite ourselves to Christ. And the works of charity are the sign that this union is real.
The #Synod is a process of spiritual discernment, that unfolds in adoration, in prayer and in dialogue with the word of God. #ListeningChurch
The Lord has liberated us from slavery freely, and set us on the path to walk in the fullness of freedom. #GeneralAudience
Today we remember the final apparition of #OurLadyOfFatima. I entrust you all to the heavenly Mother of God. May she accompany you on your way and be of comfort in the trials of life.
Participating in a #Synod means taking the same path as the Word made flesh: following in his footsteps, listening to his word and the words of others, discovering with amazement that the Holy Spirit always surprises us with fresh paths and new ways of speaking.
Let us invoke the Holy Spirit with greater fervour and frequency, and humbly listen to him, journeying together as He, the source of communion and mission, desires: with docility and courage. #Synod #ListeningChurch
True encounter arises only from listening. #Synod #ListeningChurch vatican.va/content/f…
The experience of encounter changes us and it frequently suggests new ways we never thought of taking. This is how God so often points out new paths. Everything changes once we are capable of genuine encounters with Him and with one another. #Synod #ListeningChurch
In this #Synod, we too are called to become experts in the art of encounter by taking time to encounter the Lord and one another, to listen to what the Spirit wants to say to the Church. #ListeningChurch
In the #GospelOfTheDay, Jesus listens with his heart and not just with his ears. He does more than simply answer the rich man’s question but lets him tell his story, to speak freely about himself. #Synod #ListeningChurch
Celebrating a #Synod means walking on the same road, together. Let us look at Jesus in the #GospelOfTheDay who first encounters the rich man on the road; then he listens to his questions, and finally he helps him discern what he must do to inherit eternal life. #ListeningChurch
Dear brothers and sisters, may this Synod be a true season of the Spirit! For we need the Spirit, the ever new breath of God, who sets us free from every form of self-absorption, revives what is moribund, loosens shackles and spreads joy. #ListeningChurch
The Synod offers us the opportunity to become a Church of closeness, that does not stand aloof from life, but immerses herself in today’s problems and needs, bandaging wounds and healing broken hearts with the balm of God. #ListeningChurch
The Synod offers us the opportunity to become a listening Church, to break out of our routine and pause from our pastoral concerns in order to stop and listen. #ListeningChurch
Let us experience this moment of encounter, listening and reflection as a season of grace that offers us the opportunity of becoming a synodal Church: an open square where all can feel at home and participate. #Synod #ListeningChurch
Synodality is an expression of the Church’s style. The word “synod” says it all: it means “journeying together”. And the movement is the fruit of docility to the Holy Spirit, who directs this history, in which all have a part to play. #Synod
We are about to begin a synodal process "Towards a Synodal Church: Communion, Participation, Mission". This process was conceived as an exercise in mutual listening involving the entire People of God. #Synod
We undertake the journey to cultivate peace in God's name aware that we are brothers and sisters. Even though some foment division and conflict, we believe in the importance of journeying together for peace: with one another, never again against one another. #FraternityForFuture
If peoples are to remain brothers and sisters, prayer must rise unceasingly to Heaven, and one single word constantly echo on earth: peace. #FraternityForFuture vatican.va/content/f…
Today, the Church celebrates the Feast of #OurLadyOfTheRosary. In this month of October, I invite you to recite this prayer, allowing yourselves to be led by Mary toward Jesus, her Son.
This coming 9 October, the new synodal way will begin. Let us #PrayTogether so that the reflections and exchanges of this Assembly might help us rediscover the joy of being the People of God who journeys together, listening to everyone. #Synod #ListeningChurch
Freedom makes free to the extent to which it transforms a person’s life and directs it toward the good. #GeneralAudience
If we desire a more fraternal world, we need to educate the younger generations to acknowledge, appreciate and love each person, regardless of physical proximity, place of birth or where they live. #GlobalCompactOnEducation vatican.va/content/f…
Today, on this World #Teachers’ Day, we wish to express our gratitude to every teacher and our concern for education. #GlobalCompactOnEducation
Openness to interdependence and sharing, the dynamism of love and a call to respect: these are three interpretative keys that can shed light on our efforts to care for our common home. #Faiths4COP26 vatican.va/content/f…
#COP26 in Glasgow is called to provide effective responses to the unprecedented ecological crisis and the crisis of values we are presently experiencing, and in this way to offer concrete hope to future generations. Let us accompany it with our spiritual closeness. #Faiths4COP26
Care for our common home is also a call to respect: respect for creation, respect for our neighbour, respect for ourselves and for the Creator. #SeasonOfCreation
Together with #SaintFrancis we praise You, Father, with all your creatures who have come forth from your powerful hands. They are yours and are filled with your presence and your tenderness. #LaudatoSi' #SeasonOfCreation
Let us #PrayTogether for the gift of peace for the beloved land of Myanmar: so that the hands of those who live there no longer need to wipe away tears of pain and death, but instead join together to overcome difficulties and work together to bring peace.
The #GospelOfTheDay (Mk 10:2-16) says that Jesus is very tender with the little ones. The difficulties and situations that reveal our weakness are privileged opportunities to experience His love: in dark or lonely moments, God’s tenderness towards is made even more present.
Being poor in spirit is the way of achieving everything as persons and as a society: it leads toward using our resources, techologies and talents for integral human development, for the common good, social justice and the care of our common home. #Beatitudes
To you, young people, I once again entrust the task of placing fraternity at the centre of the economy. Now as never before we feel the need for young people who, through study and practice, know how to demonstrate that a different economy exists. #EoF2021
#GuardianAngels help us in our lives and show us where we need to go. Our angel is the daily bridge to our encounter with the Father.
Life is a gift, and when it is long it is a privilege. The “wealth of many years” is a wealth in terms of the persons themselves, their experience and history. #IDOP2021
Saint #ThereseOfTheChildJesus is one of the saints who speaks to us the most about God's grace and how God takes care of us, takes us by the hand and lets us easily climb the mountain of life - if only we abandon ourselves completely to Him.
Let us #PrayTogether that every baptized person may be engaged in evangelization, available to the mission, by being witnesses of a life that has the flavour of the Gospel. #PrayerIntention #Synod pic.twitter.com/DXtW…
To respond concretely to the serious phenomenon of global warming is a moral imperative. Lack of action will have secondary effects, especially on the poorest, who are also the most vulnerable. #SeasonOfCreation
Let us #PrayTogether for maritime personnel and fishermen, who have recently faced many sacrifices so as to provide, through their work, food and other primary needs to the greater human family to alleviate the sufferings caused by the pandemic. #WorldMaritimeDay
Dear young people, I would like to thank you for your dreams and good projects, and for the fact that you are as concerned about human relations as you are about caring for the environment. Thank you. It is a concern that is good for everyone. #Youth4Climate
Fighting against the terrible scourge of hunger means also fighting waste. To throw food away means to throw people away. It is scandalous today not to notice how precious food is as a good, and how so much good ends up so badly. #FLWDay
The response of faith demands that we be active in our love for God and in our love of neighbour. #GeneralAudience
Today, the Church remembers the #ArchangelSaints Michael, Gabriel and Raphael, messengers of God's grace. Let us entrust ourselves to them so that our good works might make God's love visible in the world.
Christian spirituality proposes moderation and simplicity that allows us to stop and appreciate the small things, to be grateful for the opportunities life affords us, to be spiritually detached from what we possess, and not succumb to sadness for what we lack. #SeasonOfCreation
During this time of crisis - health, social, environmental -- let us reflect on how the use of material goods can be harmful for the earth. Let us choose to change and to move toward a simpler and more respectful style of life regarding creation. #SeasonOfCreation
